


dinner with the ersos

by dreamsleep



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Gen, Post-Rogue One, also i have not seen TLJ so eh, except krennic, if you're here for serious plot look elsewhere, this is basically a romcom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-03-05 01:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13377555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamsleep/pseuds/dreamsleep
Summary: Cassian gets invited to the house for dinner. K-2SO and Jyn are less than thrilled, but for very different reasons.(In which K-2SO disapproves of Jyn, Jyn sees what her mother is up to, Galen is just happy that his daughter is home visiting, Cassian is enjoying the food, and Lyra is two steps ahead of everyone.)





	1. it's a trap

**Author's Note:**

  * For [valkyrierising](https://archiveofourown.org/users/valkyrierising/gifts).



> Happy birthday, valkyriesrising.

 “It may be a trap,” K-2SO informed Cassian as it initiated landing procedures as unwillingly as a droid following orders could. “Or perhaps we may be leading the enemy right to them. Are you sure you considered the security risks for this, Cassian?”

Cassian Andor didn't even look over at the former Imperial intelligence droid as he checked the readouts from various panels by the co-pilot's seat. “Isn't that why I have you?” Cassian frowned at one of the readouts. “How in the galaxy is anyone supposed to land in a place like this? There doesn't look like there is a safe landing zone for miles.”

Both parts of that statement were technically true, though K-2SO imagined that this was part of the point of choosing this place to relocate the Ersos. Convincing the Empire that the Ersos would pick a place as abandoned and dying as this one was no easy task, though K-2SO was fairly certain that given a few days he could come up with a plausible report to present to his former owners. Convincing Lyra Erso, wife of Galen Erso, mother of Jyn Erso, to return voluntarily to living life underground after nearly 13 years of hard labor on an Imperial mining planet had been much harder. (None of K-2SO's subroutines had been able to accomplish that task, though in its defense, it was only a single unit, and Mon Mothma and Princess Leia Organa had been two units, which may have explained their success.) Still, for the better part of nearly four years, the Ersos had been successfully kept away from Orson Krennic's hands.

The Rebellion had already seen the damage done by one weapon to know that if Galen Erso was ever captured by the Empire, the destruction of entire planets would only be the beginning. Not that K-2SO ever thought that it would reach that point. Based off of what little data it had of Lyra Erso, it had the distinct impression that if Orson Krennic was ever within a system's reach of Lyra Erso, the human female would definitely had shot him with a heavy blaster.

It had been the first thing she had asked for when they had rescued her on Lothal.

Temporarily filing away the compliment to examine later, K-2SO focused instead on the second part of Cassian's set of statements. It was true that it had taken the best pilot in the Rebellion to get the Ersos to their present location, and even then, Shara Bey had never looked at these mountains in quite the same way again when she had returned, hands shaking as she hugged her small son Poe. But Shara Bey had gotten them there, which meant that it was possible. With a droid and a human, how hard could it have been?

Not very, as it turned out, because it took both droid and human a split second to see it. A subtle flair from the top of one mountain, then another. Extrapolating this data took K-2SO almost no time at all, the data points lining up almost perfectly, like it had been designed by a crystallographer with a genius intellect.

_Oh._

Guiding the ship along the hidden lines, K-2SO was the one who saw it first. The landing area was small, carved into the side of a cliff like a ship hanger on a large Star Destroyer, visible only if you knew where to look. In this case, K-2SO did know where to look, and soon Cassian did too, because there were two small figures visible at the cliff's edge. Well, K-2SO amended, one directly at the cliff's edge, the other seated a little further back on a small rock. The one at the cliff's edge was wearing a handmade straw hat that they promptly yanked off of their head, waving about as if to signal the ship. Upon seeing their companion behaving in a manner that K-2SO classified as erratic, the other figure stood up and slowly walked over, their body bent at a strange angle that K-2SO identified as caused by a probable injury. Like their companion, this figure also wore a straw hat, no doubt meant to shield the face from the sun in a sun-less place like this one.

Without any preamble, the first figure yanked the hat off of their companions and began to wave both hats in both hands, a clear signal that they saw the ship. Not that they would ever ask K-2SO for its opinion, but it hoped that they didn't do this for every ship that approached. TIE fighter pilots were supposed to be trained to fire at any hint of vulnerability. This surely qualified.

Rather than be disappointed or disapprove, Cassian.....seemed to be charmed by this. At least, this was what K-2SO could extrapolate from the expression on Cassian's face, which seemed to resemble a smile. Cassian was very lucky that it was capable of mufti-tasking, one of K-2SO's subroutines judged. It was one of the reasons why it was capable of piloting this ship without looking out of the front window as it stared at Cassian, trying to dissect and understand his preferred human's behavior. Cassian let out a small, quiet laugh that K-2SO knew very well after having worked with him for so long. “Well, that's one way to send a welcome.”

Before K-2SO could utter a reply, the door to the cockpit opened. It did not even have time to utter a sigh, because K-2SO knew very well who it was. It had been so busy with flying the ship that it had nearly forgotten that there was an additional passenger on this ship. (K-2SO could not actually forget unless its memory banks were tampered with, which was perhaps one of the reasons why its height had become standard. Not that it had stopped _certain_ individuals from trying.)

Jyn Erso let out a snort as she beheld the sight before her. “That's them all right,” she said, shaking her head as she leaned over Cassian's chair to take in the view. “My mother, most definitely.”

“It's almost as if the desire to welcome danger is a hereditary trait,” K-2SO offered.

The rest of the descent took place in a tense silence.

 –--

 K-2SO had learned very early on that throwing someone off of a ship was an action whose purpose was generally ambiguous unless the individual doing the action was specifically asked why they had done it. Throwing a prisoner off of a ship after capturing them for example, could serve multiple purposes: intimidation, disrespect, or impatience. As a droid, K-2SO could not say for certain if it liked or disliked something; rather, it arranged everything in order of its preferences, followed by Cassian's preferences. Of course there were deviations as they were not the same being, but normally their preferences were within 95% alignment of each other.

Concerning Jyn Erso, their alignment plummeted to a startling 12%, a number backed up by nearly five years worth of data. Numbers did not lie, and if a certain gold plated droid ever insinuated that it did again, K-2SO would not be responsible for what it did to the other arm. It wasn't like there had been any witnesses anyway.

All of this was to say that K-2SO would have preferred to throw Jyn Erso off of the ship before immediately initiating the launch sequence so that the two of them could be away. Unfortunately, Cassian did not share this preference; K-2SO had hinted at the possibility exactly once, and the answer had been memorable enough that it had never asked again. It would not have been an unjustified action; Jyn Erso did have a criminal record under quite a few names. There was a precedent for throwing criminals off of private spacecraft. In very narrow logical parameters, this was a logical conclusion.

Thankfully for the droid, Jyn Erso was, in this instance the first one off of the ship, ignoring the warnings and leaping from the ship before the ramp was fully down into her waiting parents' arms. The action appeared to bring a smile to Cassian's face, which was further proof that the 12% preference alignment was doomed to drop closer to zero yet again. Add to the fact that K-2SO had to ask Cassian three times where their next destination was, and the problem had definitely not gone away.

Luckily for Cassian, K-2SO was very patient with the people he preferred.

“I was thinking that maybe we could....go to someplace.....nice.” Even when he answered, Cassian seemed distracted. From its higher vantage point thanks to its construction manifest, it took K-2SO less than a second to realize what he was looking at: the family reunion in front of the ship.

“That leaves out Alderaan, Yavin, Coruscant and maybe Endor,” K-2SO replied, dryly. “And includes the entire rest of the galaxy.” K-2SO was about ready to randomize a planet and plug it into the navigation computer when its auditory sensors picked up a commotion from down below.

“Jyn probably forgot to safety off on her illegally acquired blaster,” K-2SO quipped as Cassian stood up from his seat to see down below. The group of three had now become two and one, with one figure approaching the ship, waving a singular straw hat up toward the two of them. K-2SO ordinarily would not have given this much though, except it happened to catch the expression on Jyn's face. Jyn had gone paler than usual, her knuckles white on her father's sleeve from where she held him.

“Mother,” Jyn started, taking a step toward her mother, who was marching down toward the ship. “Mother please, don't-”

Which meant that K-2SO definitely preferred to turn on the ship's external communication systems to broadcast down to the parties below.

“Captain Andor!” The voice was light, lilting and cheerful, as far apart from Jyn's tough, assertive tones and Galen Erso's measured, careful ones. By process of elimination, this could only be the mother, Lyra. She did not rank nearly as high as the others in her family on the threat scale. K-2SO could calculate at least five easy points on her body where it could break her bones with minimal force, which was less than the previous calculations he had performed when last it has seen her.

Lyra Erso had been a husk of a Human when he and Cassian had gone to Lothal in order to rescue her. Thirteen years of light deprivation, combined with hard labor in the mines there had nearly destroyed her body, but not her mind. The years since had seen her gain some of her muscle back, but if Lyra Erso hoped to take on Imperials, it would have to be out of an official combat zone even though Orson Krennic had flagged Lyra Erso as a major threat in his files.

Still, she looked healthy enough now as she waved her straw hat up at the two of them. Cassian couldn't help but wave back, shyly. He seemed embarrassed by the action, a conclusion that K-2SO concurred with.

“Captain Andor!” Lyra Erso repeated, shouting up at the cockpit. “Thank you for bringing my daughter home to visit. We really do appreciate it.”

“You're welcome, Mrs. Erso,” Cassian finally said over the intercom.

“As you've no doubt traveled so far,” Lyra continued, much to her daughter's shocked chagrin. “My husband and I were wondering if you would be so kind as to join us for dinner.”

In the background, well within K-2SO's visual sensors, Jyn's head whipped around to stare at her father, eyes wide with what might have been characterized as betrayal. Her heart rate had certainly increased within the past few moments as her mother had been conversing with Cassian. Was there something that Jyn did not want them to know? K-2SO very much wanted to know, especially after Cassian had revoked its access to Jyn Erso's personnel file. Galen, for his part, seemed to be just as confused as his daughter as he stared at his wife before shrugging his shoulders at his daughter.

K-2SO turned to Cassian to see how he would respond.

Cassian was flushing in his cheeks a little as he responded. “I would not want to impose or be much trouble.” K-2SO turned back to Jyn, who had turned back around stiffly. At these words, her shoulders relaxed, and her face returned to something more closely resembling what the droid had designated her default smug expression.

That expression did not last long as Lyra shook her head, hands on her hips. “Nonsense. I wouldn't ask if I did not expect to receive a 'yes'. You are always welcome at our table, Captain Andor-”

“Cassian,” Cassian interrupted, a hand on the back of his neck. “Please call me Cassian, Mrs. Erso.”

“Only if you call me Lyra,” Jyn's mother smiled back, flashing a coy smile that had Jyn freezing up, a sight that K-2SO found preferable. “Now come down from your ship. It won't go anywhere until you get back, and if anyone even comes looking for it, we'll know, won't we Galen?” Lyra turned back to look at her husband, smiling at her stiff bodied daughter and her relaxed husband, who shrugged even as he nodded. Without listening for an answer, Lyra turned back to the ship, face expectant.

Cassian did not appear to know what to say. As if sensing this, Lyra Erso turned and began to walk back toward her daughter and her husband. “Best hurry if you don't want to get left behind, Cassian!” she called out as she walked away.

That seemed to spur Cassian into action. “Watch the ship, Kaytoo,” Cassian ordered as he scrambled up and out of his chair. K-2SO looked on in surprise as he all but seemed to sprint out of the cockpit. Lyra Erso wasn't even walking faster by K-2SO's calculations; if anything, she had slowed down, her body language the opposite of her daughter's.

“But Cassian,” K-2SO tried to protest.

“It's just dinner, Kaytoo,” Cassian shouted back as he headed toward the exit ramp. “Nothing should happen, and if it does, just contact me through the comms.”

Except it wasn't just dinner, K-2SO contemplated as it was left sitting there, watching the four of them begin to move toward the dwelling that had to be somewhere nearby. It was dinner with _Jyn_. The probability of something happening was not only high, it was all but certain to happen.

Cassian was definitely walking into a trap.

K-2SO gave them a ten minute head start before it left the ship, taking care to lock it before it left to covertly follow them.

 


	2. the dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orson Krennic, K-2SO reflected, may have been onto something when he had deemed Lyra Erso one of the most dangerous women in the galaxy.

Lyra Erso considered herself a patient woman. She had waited for Galen to make the first move (albeit after giving him _several_ heavy hints). She had waited out Orson Krennic to his death (a great shame, since she had wanted to shoot the blaster herself but ultimately had to settle for hitting the button to blow up his personal transport because apparently nothing made it off of Scarif after the weapons test). She had even managed to wait out the destruction of the Galactic Empire. Patience was indeed her virtue, and after years of practicing it, Lyra was done.

Especially when it came to her rather errant daughter who had evidently inherited her father's ability to not see the obvious when it came to social situations. It seemed that, like with Galen, Lyra would have to intercede on her daughter's behalf. Unlike Galen, however, Jyn had apparently inherited Lyra's own brand of stubbornness, if talking to her daughter was of any indication.

"What about that nice soldier you talk about every now and again?" was one of Lyra's latest attempts to probe at Jyn's social life. Jyn tried to call as often as she could, but with the war and the fact that Lyra and Galen were in hiding, these small moments were rarer than they should have been. Not for the first time, Lyra lamented that despite the fact that their family had been reunited, they had been forced to separate again, this time on more willing terms. Lyra had spent nearly fifteen years without either of them, and having Galen back did little to soothe the ache that had resumed now she knew the truth.

Maybe trying to secure Jyn's future happiness had started off as a good distraction. Lyra felt more restless now than she ever had been, and despite the limited amount of information they could get in their current hiding place, it was at least a project that she could apply her mind to.

Even if it meant that she had to play a little dirty to get results.

"Kes Dameron?" Jyn yawned, and Galen reached out to touch the holoscreen, his fingers hovering over the bags that both of them could see under their daughter's eyes. "He's with someone already, Mom."

"No, no, not him," Lyra shook her head, trying to hide her expression as she shook her head, looking away from the screen to try and hide her smile. "That nice one. What was his name? The clever, handsome one. Surely you remember, Galen. Was it Cassius?"

Galen gave her a strange look. Lyra could see the thoughts running through his head, a slower version of his usual genius running through this social obstacle course. Luckily, Lyra had a map.

Jyn froze halfway to slumping out of her bunk. Lyra's eyes narrowed as her daughter fought to compose herself, trying very hard to pass off the action as a result of being tired after just coming back from another mission. Ah. So it was that one. It was a decent enough place to start.

 

–-

 

K-2SO, admittedly, did not have a plan. Not that it would have admitted to it; there were only two scenarios where that would have happened: if Cassian had asked him and if a technician was currently performing an autopsy on it. One was infinitely more likely than the other, and in either case, K-2SO was comforted by the idea that no matter what, either end was unlikely to occur because of a plan formulated by Jyn Erso.

Thankfully, it appeared that Cassian had not deactivated his comm, which made it that much easier to follow him to wherever the Ersos were going.

The last published scans of this planet had been from over a decade ago, which coincidentally was around the last time that there had been a settlement here. Local legend claimed that there had once been a Jedi Temple located here, but that during the Clone Wars, it had been destroyed by the Separatists. According to that same legend, in retaliation, the Force had punished them by exposing deep fissures in the mantle of the planet, ones that reached so deep into the core that it was said that if the fall didn't kill you, the lava at the bottom would. Not that it had mattered: with the war, few had dared to try again. Not that there was much here anyway; the harsh conditions hadn't gone anywhere. It did make K-2SO curious, however, to know how the Ersos had managed to survive when the odds were so stacked against them. Then again, it supposed that if Galen Erso couldn't find a way, then very few others could.

There was a brief loss of signal, and K-2SO's motor functions instantly stopped, all though processes ceasing. Had Cassian taken a fall? Could he have fallen into one of the endless fissures to be burned alive at the bottom? Had Jyn Erso finally killed him, her parents complicit in her ill begotten plan? Was Jyn Erso only capable of designing and conceiving a plan if violence was involved?

One thing was for sure: if Cassian was dead, so was Jyn Erso. K-2SO would make sure of that.

Less than a second later, Cassian's signal stabilized. K-2SO's sensors indicated that it had shifted ; rather than continuing on this winding path forward, it had begun to descend at a controlled rate.

Interesting. K-2SO resumed its tracking, only a tiny bit disappointed that for the time being, avenging Cassian would have to wait.

 

–-

 

“Mother,” Jyn hissed as soon as the two of them had a moment alone. “What the _kriff_ are you doing?” Lyra was impressed; she had expected her daughter to pull her aside immediately on the way back to the house. It might have been why Lyra had decided to take the lead; other than Galen, neither of their guests had been in this part of the galaxy before, and it was tricky if one didn't have a guide.

Lyra, luckily, knew the area well enough to navigate it blindfolded with her husband beside her, an advantage her daughter did not have. Of course, it hadn't hurt that Lyra had seized Cassian's arm and proceeded to walk with him the entire way back to the house. If Jyn had wanted to say anything to her, she would have had to say it within earshot of Captain Andor. If there had been any communicated to her, it had transmitted through razor sharp glares directed at her back.

Had Lyra had planned for this exact situation? Of course not. But given a once in a lifetime opportunity, Lyra could hardly refuse it. Besides, her daughter was merely confirming what Lyra had long suspected: that Jyn had feelings for Cassian.

If she could get her daughter to act on those feelings, then this visit would be beyond a success.

“Force, Jyn,” Lyra exclaimed, hands very much occupied with tossing the salad in the bowl before her. “I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about, other than trying to make a nice dinner for all of us.”

“That,” Jyn pointed out, tone sharp and accusing. “What you're doing right now, Mother.” Lyra fought the urge to roll her eyes. Jyn tended to call her 'Mum' on good days, and 'Mother' when she was in severe disagreement. At the very least, she had not progressed to 'Lyra', with a tone that implied that Lyra was not her mother but an imposter. Lyra would need to play this one carefully. “Why the kriff did you invite _him_?”

Lyra turned, eyes wide in surprise, even as inwardly, she chortled in laughter. “But you talked so much about him in your transmissions, Jyn,” the mother reminded her daughter. “And he did rescue both your father and I. The very least that we could do is offer him dinner as a token of our thanks.”

Cassian, at that moment chose to poke his head into the kitchen. “Can I help you at all?” he asked politely, casting a nervous glance between the two women. His presence did nothing to ease the scowl on Jyn's face. If anything, it caused the lines to deepen as Jyn turned back to whatever it was she was chopping. The knife hit the chopping block like rapid blaster fire. Lyra had no doubt that it would be very finely chopped, which is exactly what she needed for the salad.

Lyra beamed at the slightly paler Cassian, whose jaw had dropped at seeing Jyn's kitchen skills in action. “I think we'll be alright for now.” she told Cassian, setting down her utensils and crossing over to him. “Has Galen showed you his rock collection yet? He doesn't get to show very many people here. Come, let's go-”

Lyra had been about to take Cassian's arm to lead him away from the kitchen when the knife struck the counter with a resounding thud. Faster than a blink of an eye, Jyn had crossed in front of Lyra, her arm pushing Lyra's out of the way to grab a hold of Cassian's.

“Why don't you finish making dinner, _Mother_?” Jyn smiled sweetly through burning eyes at her mother. Cassian froze at the gesture, looking down at his arm that was now firmly int Jyn's hold. “I think the vegetables should be ready now. I'll take Cassian to go find Papa.” Without another word, Jyn hustled Cassian out of the kitchen, leaving Lyra alone to prepare the rest of the meal.

Lyra smiled, hands on her hips. Perhaps this wouldn't go too badly after all.

 

–-

  

Jyn was unusually quiet as she dragged Cassian down the hall. Had it been someone else, or maybe anyone else, Cassian would have either demanded an explanation or questioned their motives. He couldn't help it; part of being a good undercover operative meant that you were aware of the circumstances. With Jyn though, things tended to be different and Cassian could say that after having _not_ been attacked plenty of times by persons of interest he had been sent to rescue.

He was jolted out of his reverie by Jyn yanking hard on his arm. He stumbled, falling forward straight into Jyn, who had whirled around to face him. With a push, she shoved him against a wall. It was not difficult to do, given the space. He and Jyn would have barely been able to walk side by side in this hallway without knocking into each other somewhere. Not that he would have dared to walk beside her; beyond helping him when he was injured, Jyn usually initiated any contact between them. A shove was a new one in the Jyn Erso Contact Lexicon however, and it was one that knocked the air out of his lungs and brought him face to face with one sharp eyed, determined woman.

There was a real moment when Cassian had the vague idea that he might die, because looking into Jyn's eyes was like looking down the barrel of a blaster that one wasn't sure was about to fire. The sheer intensity of her focus was intimidating; Cassian had often wondered why they had never put Jyn Erso in charge of interrogating prisoners. Then again, Cassian had a feeling that there wouldn't have been much left of the prisoner once she was done, and Jyn definitely preferred action over just talking.

Still, he trusted her, which was why he waited there, watching to see what she would do. Surely if she hadn't wanted him to come to dinner, she would have said something, right?

Cassian wasn't sure how long they stood there, her hand a brand on his chest. He was conscious of his heart roaring in his ears, a counterpart to the movement of his lungs as he breathed in and out. This close, he could pick out the flecks in her eyes that reminded him of a galaxy being born, beholden to nothing but the laws of gravity as it made its mark on the universe. It didn't take much for him to recall them; a flash of a merchant's fabric in a market instantly brought them to the forefront of his mind. From there, his mind would fill in the rest, drawing a portrait of Jyn's face for him that it often made it hard for him to focus on anything else. In those moments, he was glad for K-2SO's company. The droid had a knack for bringing him back to reality.

This close to her face, Cassian could reach out and trace her features. Time had distorted his memory of them, and he was keen to memorize them again, for who knew how long it would be until he saw her again?

The harsh line of Jyn's mouth softened for a moment. Her grip on his slackened as she shifted her weight away from him, uncertainty in her face. She opened her mouth and then shut it again. “Cassian,” she tried.

Cassian was at once concerned. His brow furrowed, which appeared to upset the brunette more. His hands came up and caught her forearms. “What is it?” he asked. Jyn made a half hearted effort to pull away, but his grip was firm enough that he held on. It was a token gesture regardless: they both knew that if Jyn had really wanted to go, she easily could have. “Jyn, what's wrong?”

Jyn swallowed, taking a moment to compose herself while refusing to look him in the eye. “Cassian,” she repeated, the words slow in coming to her. “Cassian, I have something I need to tell you-”

Just then, the wall panel to Cassian's left slid open, revealing a slow blinking Galen Erso carrying a small potted plant in one hand and a datapad in the other. Jyn froze, springing back stiffly from Cassian to try and put as much space in between them as she could. In the shadow of the doorway, Cassian could have sworn that Jyn's face was flushed. In his defense, however, he hadn't really been looking because he had focused on the look on Galen Erso's face, one that was making Cassian very nervous. This was, after all, the man who had designed one of the deadliest weapons in the galaxy, deceived the Empire while doing so, and may or may not have been aware that at one moment in time, Cassian had been ordered to kill him.

He was so screwed if Galen found out about the latter, but was perhaps even more screwed if Galen thought that he was causing his daughter distress in any way.

Galen's eyes found his daughter first, blinking in the darkness. Painstakingly slowly, he panned to the right, stopping when he saw Cassian. Cassian swore that he saw the scientist's eyes narrow for a split second.

 “Stardust.” Galen nodded toward his daughter, a hint of a fond smile on his face. “Captain Andor.” He nodded more solemnly toward Cassian. Cassian tried to smile as he nodded back. “Have you both come to see my rock collection?”

 

–-

 

“You have quite the rock collection,” Cassian offered. To be honest, Cassian had been woefully out of his depth during Dr. Erso's tour. His few glimpses of Jyn as they had slowly made their rounds had convinced him to remain silent though. Jyn had been rapt with attention, soaking in her father's every word. In that aspect at least, even Cassian had to admit that the scientist was a talented storyteller. There was a pleasant cadence to his words, slow at first so that his audience would be able to follow. His excitement only became apparent when he began to speed up, and the technical words began to flow.

It was usually in those moments when he would turn to his left, except there was no one there. His face would become stricken for a moment, until Jyn reached out to touch his arm, at which point he would blink, look at his daughter, turn back toward the open door and listen. In the quiet, the bustle in the kitchen made itself known, and only then did the scientist relax, patting his daughter's hand.

Cassian wondered if Dr. Erso had done the same thing while in the employ of the Empire, and if in those moments, he had thought of his wife, who appeared to have never been far enough away to help translate his thoughts.

It made Cassian miss his own parents with a fierceness he had almost forgotten.

“How was it that you have managed all of this with almost no assistance?” Cassian had asked, trying to pull his thoughts away from that dark place. Jyn shot him a look, one that he wasn't sure how to interpret as it was a mix between annoyance, concern and impatience. “Do you miss some of the comforts of the base?”

Galen Erso considered the question silently for a few moments. “It is a challenge for us,” he replied with a shrug. “But a most welcome one. Besides,” and here he gave his daughter a wry grin. “My wife likes challenges well enough.”

If Jyn was blushing, Cassian had the good sense to pretend not to see.

 

–-

 

“Perhaps we should find your mother,” Galen suggested after moving briefly to his flora collection. Unlike his rock collection, this part of his lab was a little more haphazard. It contained, he explained, a small sample of possible flora through which he would determine the best way to grow them before moving them out to Lyra's garden where they could be grown to help supplement their meals. (“My wife,” Galen had confided to Cassian, “is very gifted with these sorts of things.” Cassian had just nodded.) “She might need help preparing the meal.”

Jyn and Cassian both opened their mouths at the same time to reply, Cassian to assent and Jyn to...well, Cassian wasn't sure and he would never dare to put words in Jyn's mouth for her. Neither of them had a chance to get a syllable in, however, as a smiling Lyra popped up from behind them carrying a bowl of something under one arm. It was a smile that everyone except Galen, who was probably used to the ways of his wife, had difficulty returning. (Cassian might have yelped in surprise. Jyn was quick to grab his hand in reassurance, an action that did not escape Lyra's gaze.)

“There you all are!” Lyra greeted them, smiling just a little bit wider. “Just in time too. Shall we sit down to our meal?”

Jyn stood there, glowering at her mother. Galen's hand on her shoulder did little to improve the situation. Leaving her daughter to Galen, Lyra turned toward Cassian and reached out with her free hand, twining her arm with his to tug him along. “Come! I hope you like what I've prepared.”

“I'm sure I will,” stammered Cassian, who cast a glance back at Jyn. Lyra tugged on his arm again to bring his attention back forward. “I really didn't mean to cause so much trouble-”

“Perhaps that's what we've been missing, my dear,” Lyra interrupted, tossing the comment back to her husband, who was shepherding Jyn along from behind. “Trouble.”

“If you say so, dear,” Galen replied easily. “I'll let you handle it, since you like trouble so much.”

“He knows me so well,” Lyra whispered loudly to Cassian. He didn't reply, but for the first time, he could see what had given K-2SO its impression that this might be a trap. But then the moment passed, especially when he beheld the table. Then his jaw dropped.

“This is-” Cassian swallowed, his hand in Jyn's flexing a little. She squeezed back. “Wow.”

 

–-

 

“I can't believe that I almost forgot the most important part of the meal,” Lyra called out behind her, humming cheerfully as she glanced out of the small window she had carved into the wall. A flash of color caught her eye as she glanced up toward the small fissure that opened up to the sky. Dark clouds were rolling in. Lyra laughed quietly to herself. She couldn't have predicted the rain, but it certainly helped her cause.

It simply wouldn't be safe to let Cassian walk back to his ship. He would _have_ to spend the night.

She watched as one fat drop fell onto the leaf of a plant she had placed just outside of the window. She would need to give it a trim soon, it was growing too tall-

_Clang_.

Lyra's hands stilled, her ears suddenly alert, hoping to hear it again. Nothing metal was near the house, save for one thing. It had come from that direction, yes, but something wasn't right. Lyra had spent hours outside of their humble little dwelling well hidden from the outside world, setting up traps to sense when invaders were coming. None of them appeared to have been triggered, but there was something out there. Lyra could practically feel them.

A rustle. Lyra reached down under the sink and removed the blaster she had smuggled onto the planet without Galen's knowledge and began to warm it up. Something was out there, and if had any designs toward harming her family, whatever it was, it was going to be very disappointed.

 

–-

 

K-2SO froze, its foot caught on something. It had been so tuned into Cassian's comm signal that it had missed the change in terrain. This was not the hard rock that defined most of the planet's visible surface. No, it was standing in some sort of flora, with its foot about to crush something that definitely not plant based. Not exactly, anyway.

Not paying attention was inexcusable. Given the gravity of the mission that K-2SO had chosen to embark on, stealth was paramount to its success. And yet, it sensed no danger; as far as it knew, it had not yet been detected, which worked in its favor. It meant that there was still time to rescue Cassian from whatever was going on in....wherever this was, and to get him back to the ship away from this trap.

A drop of rain hit its head, and K-2SO glanced up at the sky, visible through a small bit of a fissure. An incoming storm. The droid knew that this complicated its rescue plan, but quickly weighed the props and cons of this new development and made the necessary adjustments. It would perhaps be necessary to knock Cassian out and carry him back to the ship. A cold would be nothing in terms of the continued longevity of Cassian's life.

The laser point of a blaster made itself known on K-2SO's chest, interrupting that thought process. “Who goes there?” a less than friendly voice that K-2SO instantly matched to its databanks of voice samples. _My, how quickly the tables had turned_ , it thought to itself. “Show yourself.”

K-2SO paused in the time that it would take a slow Human to blink, before slowly stepping forward and lifting up the object that it had nearly stepped on, holding it up before it like a shield. There was perhaps only one way out of this situation: intimidation. “Does Galen Erso know about this, Lyra Erso?” the droid asked the human woman pointing a blaster at it.

Made from bits of scrap metal and wood, the object had been painstakingly crafted by hand, from the lumpy hat to the blue eyes crudely drawn on a flat panel that served as the face. There were various bits of metal that dotted the discarded shirt, and a white cape draped very carefully around what must have been shoulders. Very child-like, K-2SO judged, but also impressive due to the lack of supplies the Ersos had received as part of their relocation agreement.

The piece de resistance, as it were, were the scorch marks that dotted the inanimate stand in for Orson Krennic. Glancing down, K-2SO could detect that the shirt had been replaced, as the damage done to the torso was excessive, and clearly done by a blaster. A blaster of a similar make and model to the one that Lyra Erso now held in her hands.

Her eyes met his visual sensors, and for a moment, K-2SO was unsure of what she would do. Her grip on her blaster tightened along with her jaw, and her pulse did not spike or drop. She could have been capable of anything. It wondered if this was what Orson Krennic had saw that had caused the man to flag Lyra Erso as a threat to the Empire.

It also seemed to explain a lot about Jyn Erso's behavior, though K-2SO would file that away for another day.

A heartbeat, then two passed between them before Lyra lowered the heavy blaster slowly. “No,” she replied slowly. “Does Cassian know that you're here?”

Ah. K-2SO lowered the very battered Orson Krennic target stand in slowly in order to show that it too meant no immediate harm. (Cassian's comm was indeed, still active, which meant that he was alive.) “No,” it replied back, just as slowly. This was a miscalculation that he had not counted on: a blackmail attempt in exchange for the blackmail attempt it had just made. Of the two of them, it could see now that Lyra Erso had not only started off with stronger position, but had managed to defend it. Perhaps he had assessed the Erso family incorrectly. “It appears that we are at an impasse.”

“Indeed.” Lyra was smiling now, her posture relaxed. K-2SO wondered what that would mean. Would she tell Cassian about how he wasn't watching the ship? What would Cassian do, or say? Would he understand that K-2SO only had his best interests at heart, and a majority of those interests involved him staying as far away from Jyn Erso as possible? “We should remedy that. For starters, we should get you out of the rain. It can't be good for a droid to be wet for long periods of time.”

Technically, his construction manifest stated that as a security droid, he was designed to withstand most dangerous situations, including escort missions in the rain. However, escort missions rarely took all night, so it had to sub-routinely admit that Lyra Erso had the better logical argument there.

Besides, being inside might help him gain some insight into how to save Cassian. It went to take a step toward Lyra Erso, but the woman held up her hand.

“But first.” And here her voice turned steely, with a heavy hint of command in her voice that K-2SO almost found himself automatically obeying, so familiar was it to his obedience sub-routines. “You are going to get rid of that before my husband sees it.” Her tone brooked no argument.

K-2SO did not break eye contact as his systems calibrated the perfect trajectory. With a toss of its arm, the white cape fluttered out of sight into a nearby plant. Crude, but Lyra Erso had not necessarily stated where exactly he should dispose of....whatever that was. It turned back to her, waiting.

Lyra watched as the cape disappeared into the leaves of the shrub before turning back, smiling brightly at K-2SO. “K-2SO,” she began slowly, taking great care to say each letter of his designation. “It is very nice to meet you at last. Jyn's told me so much about you. Won't you come in?” She moved away to show the door leading inside.

K-2SO took a step toward the door, very wary of the blaster that Lyra held in her hand. It had managed to extrapolate enough ballistic data from the Orson Krennic-shaped target that Lyra, while still physically weak, was capable of having very good aim. The shots covered a wide area, but the more recent ones seemed to be centered around the area where a Human heart would ordinarily have been.

K-2SO did not have any critical circuits in that area. However, if Lyra Erso missed, there was no telling where her shots would land (if they indeed landed). That unpredictability did not sit well with the droid. And if Jyn had mentioned it-.

“In what capacity was I mentioned?” K-2SO asked.

Lyra's smiled widened just a touch,. “Usually in the same sentence as the words 'firearm' or 'blaster'.”

Ah. K-2SO was beginning to more fully understand the similarities between the Erso women. This truly was a trap, it contemplated as Lyra shut the door behind him before scurrying around his large frame to the kitchen counter.

“Would you be so kind as to help me bring this to the table?” Without waiting for an answer, K-2SO found itself holding a plate of....something before being dragged off by a very enthusiastic Lyra Erso.

So much for undercover work, K-2SO lamented.

 

–--

 

“Look at who I found, waiting outside!” Lyra proclaimed as she returned with another bowl of what looked like leafy herbs. K-2SO could not fit into the room at its full height, and had to make due with slouching in the doorway, head angled at an awkward angle to fit. It raised one hand slowly, rocking its hand appendage in a sad imitation of a wave.

Cassian nearly flew out of his chair as he struggled to stand. “Kaytoo!” he exclaimed, nearly choking on his almost full mouth of food, brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you doing here? What happened to the ship? Are you alright?”

“He felt left out of course!”The droid didn't even have time to reply as Lyra cut in cheerfully as she placed the bowl down before reaching for something that K-2SO was holding. It took everyone a moment to realize that the droid had been holding a plate in its other hand. Even Galen stopped mid chew to watch as Lyra wrangled the droid into some semblance of order, helpless to resist her as she began to rapidly set the small table with more food items, each as delicious looking as the last. “Really, Cassian, you should have told me how useful he is. I can always use another set of hands in the kitchen!”

Cassian's mouth was flapping. Jyn stared at the droid with an air of distaste, finger twitching on her utensils before she caught on to what her mother had said. A slow smirk spread over her face. There was a brief groan in the room. The shaft of one of the utensils K-2SO had been holding for Lyra had once been straight; it now bent at a 90 degree angle, parallel to the ground. Lyra glanced at the droid, and then at her daughter, eyes narrowing slightly in calculation.

Jyn had already moved on, something that disconcerted K-2SO greatly. “It does have its uses,” Jyn commented casually as she slowly reached for her cup, raising it to take a sip. “Mother, I am absolutely _ravenous_. I might just eat _all_ of this food by _myself_. I don't suppose you could make a little extra to make sure Cassian gets _enough_ , could you?”

Lyra's face brightened. “Of course not, dear. Come, Kaytoo.” Lyra ushered the droid out of the kitchen over its protests. “Let's get cooking.”

If the food tasted that much better to Jyn after, she certainly didn't mention it every five minutes at nearly the top of her lungs.

 

–-

 

Galen blinked and turned to the still gaping Cassian. “How are your shooting skills these days, Captain Andor? Jyn tells us that you're a very good shot.”

“Could you pass the plate there instead?” Cassian replied after a brief pause, trying desperately to change the subject. “Also, do you have a shovel?”

“I had no idea that you had an interest in pedology, Captain.” Galen was slowly nodding as he passed the plate. “Forgive me.” The scientist held up a hand. “It could also be edaphology. It is incorrect to assume. I myself have not delved very deeply into either topic. I'm interested in knowing what you think of this small place we now call home. I admit, agriculture is not one of my strong suits-”

“Papa,” Jyn interrupted, glancing back and forth between her father's earnest face and Cassian's rapidly paling one. “Why don't you tell us how you managed to place those beacons we saw as we came in for our landing.”

_Thank you_ , mouthed Cassian as Galen launched into his story.

_Don't mention it,_ Jyn replied with a wry smile.

 

–--

 

Lyra Erso was not a woman to be underestimated, K-2SO decided. She had the energy of at least ten R2 units, with the conversation skills to drive a protocol droid insane. K-2SO didn't even need to say or do anything. Lyra had quickly turned him into an extra kitchen counter, one of his appendages being used for a towel rack, the other being used as an extra shelving unit as she bustled about.

It was almost as if she was trying to distract the droid from something. Swiveling its head from Lyra Erso to the rain outside to the dining room where he could hear Cassian every now and again, but not see him, K-2SO was beginning to put a picture together. Oddly enough, this one did not involve Jyn Erso as the perpetrator.

No, the common denominator here appeared to be someone else. 

“Lyra Erso,” the droid intoned, interrupting Lyra mid-sentence. Its head swiveled back to look down on the smaller woman, who was smiling up at him patiently. Now that it had her attention though, it wasn't sure what to say. After all, it didn't really have any proof. It just had suspicions. Suspicions weren't enough to go on for anything. (Well, unless you were Jyn Erso. Then apparently any suspicion involving statistically least likely successful action available was due to commence in 3...2....1.)

Maybe there was something to be said about that working out for Jyn Erso, though. “Did you plan this?” K-2SO queried flatly, although it came out more accusatory than anything.

Lyra tilted her head. “Plan what, dear?”

K-2SO did not blink. (Physically, it was incapable of doing so.) “I believe you know of what I speak.”

Lyra shrugged, turning her attention back to the plate of nourishment in front of her. “I wouldn't say plan,” she allowed. “After all, it isn't like I can control the weather. Hope though? I can certainly do plenty of that. How is that dish coming along, Kaytoo? It should be just about ready.”

Orson Krennic, K-2SO reflected, may have been onto something when he had deemed Lyra Erso one of the most dangerous women in the galaxy.

 

–--

 

Given the weather conditions, Cassian supposed that it made sense that he wouldn't make it back to the ship tonight. Even if he had Kaytoo to help him, he had seen some of the fissures on his way here. He had no interest in slipping to his death, and he would never ask any of the Ersos to risk their lives just to get him back to the ship. It was safer for everyone if he and K-2SO stayed here tonight, no matter how awkwardly he felt about it.Being under the same roof as the woman he had complicated feelings for did nothing for his state of mind.

The war was finally over, and for the first time, he was faced with the question of what he would do now, other than to help rebuild the Republic. That was where the issue got complicated, especially when it all tended to circle back around toward one Jyn Erso. He groaned into the pillow he had been helpfully given by Jyn's mother as he heaved himself into a sitting position on the makeshift bed the Ersos had put together for him in Galen's study. Jyn's mother, who had proceeded to feed a small army in the course of a night with the help of his best droid friend. How she had managed to do that, he would never know.

Which just brought his thoughts back to Jyn again. It was hard not to; since Scarif, it felt like they had grown closer, the result of their near death experience, if K-2SO was to be believed. Was there a chance of them ever becoming anything more?

“You gotta tell her,” Han Solo had said to him exactly once over one too many drinks. “Trust me, it gets the girl every time.” Sure, the smuggler had managed to get the princess who was very good with a blaster, but Jyn was a different matter entirely. Jyn didn't need a blaster to kill him, and by all accounts, had never shown any interest in him at all.

At least, until tonight.

So deep was he in his thoughts that he missed a figure slipping into the room and tackling him in the makeshift bed the Ersos had made for him. He made to yell, but a warm hand (not a droid) slapped itself over his mouth.

“Cassian.” Her voice was firm, very close his face. He willed himself to calm down, even as his mind raced. What in the world was going on? “I can't do this anymore.” Her hold his mouth slackened, eventually falling away.

“Jyn,” Cassian whispered into the dark. He could not see her face, not fully, but her silhouette in the low light was enough. Her breathing had evened out now, the movement of her chest against his a steady rhythm slowly deepening. “Jyn it's okay-”

“No, it's not,” Jyn declared, hands tightening on Cassian's shoulders. Her nails dug into his skin as she leaned forward, forcing his head back as she pressed in with enough force that his head hit the wall with a soft thunk. The pain was momentary though, as Cassian's brain was soon focused on processing the feeling of Jyn Erso's lips against his own. He must have gasped at some point, although he didn't really care about why his mouth was open, just that Jyn had invited herself in, lips firm against his own.

Cassian let out a groan that sounded a lot like “Finally” as his hands slid up from beside his thighs to Jyn's hips. Whether it was to keep her hips hovering over his own or to pull her closer, he wasn't sure. Jyn let out a huff of impatience either way, reaching down with one hand to pull one of Cassian's hands higher, skimming her lithe torso and slipping under her shirt to touch her where she wanted. She sighed upon his arrival, and Cassian could do little more than what he was bid as her fingers slid down to his wrist, keeping him there. Spreading his fingers wide, Jyn let out a sharp inhale and pressed closer, urging him on.

“Jyn,” Cassian breathed out between kisses, an already difficult task given that Jyn seemed determined to steal whatever air he had left in his lungs. “Jyn, we should-- are you--”

Jyn pushed back from Cassian, eyes focused in the dark upon his face, breathing hard. “If you say talk,” she warned him, hand on his wrist slowly sliding down toward his pants. “You had all of dinner talking to my parents. Enough.”

“I only meant,” Cassian tried again, pushing back against Jyn as she tried to swoop in again. “To ask if you were sure this is what you wanted-” Any other words that Cassian had to say were swallowed by Jyn as she pushed back, her hand slipping down the front of his pants. He shuddered in her grip, vision blurring for a moment as he fought to steady himself.

Jyn always did prefer action over words.

Reaching up with his other hand, Cassian's fingers caught hold of Jyn's hair tie and tugged, releasing waves of her hair down. Jyn purred as he ran his fingers over her scalp and pressed closer, hips slotting just there against his own that made them both groan.

Jyn was just working on his pants, trying to get them off (a difficult task, given that his lap was currently full of her) when there came a loud crash that jolted the two of them. Cassian's instant impulse was to reach for the blaster he had placed under his pillow, but it appeared that Jyn had beat him to it, irregardless of her state of undress. One hand wrapped around Cassian's neck, the other stretched out with the blaster, her body twisted to get a clear shot at the door.

The door opened.

“Cassian, are you alright?” a familiar metallic voice rang out as K-2SO stuck his head into the room. “Your heart rate began to accelerate to unusually high levels. Are we under attack?”

Cassian wasn't sure if he wanted to die of embarrassment, put Jyn behind her to protect her modesty, or take the blaster before Jyn did something drastic. To Cassian's surprise, Jyn lowered his blaster. He couldn't see her face, but he could see K-2SO's eyes in the dark, wide and unblinking.

Cassian swore that something in K-2SO groaned for just a second before the droid pivoted its face away. “Oh.” One syllable, and yet Cassian could sense that something was off about how K-2SO emitted the sound. It sounded shaky. The droid retreated before Cassian could question it further. “My mistake,” the droid continued from outside. “I will leave you both alone now.”

The door slid shut, and Jyn dropped the blaster. Cassian desperately hoped that the safety was on as Jyn turned back to him, a sly smile on her face.

“Where were we?” she asked. Cassian got the feeling it was a rhetorical question as she kissed him again, almost with renewed vigor as she lifted her hips to shove his pants down.

Jyn Erso, Cassian reflected as he slid down beneath her, kissing his way down her torso to work on her sleep shorts, was a woman of pure determination, not to be deterred from her goals.

 

–-

 

Breakfast was an unusually quiet affair, especially given that Lyra had two additional mouths to feed. Then again, Lyra was very sure that given the events of last night, perhaps a little silence was warranted. Not that Cassian seemed tired in the slightest; as a matter of fact, he seemed much more awake this morning compared to last night. A slight surprise, given that the extra couch they had scrounged up from their initial deposit onto this world had not exactly been the most comfortable of things to sleep on.

Then again, Lyra thought to herself, hiding her smile behind a sip of her breakfast meal, it did not appear that there had been much sleep to be had.

Galen was the first to break the silence. “How did you sleep, Stardust?” he asked his daughter.

Galen had to ask the question twice before Jyn answered, so deeply was she looking into Cassian's eyes. There was a slight smirk to her daughter's lips, one that very much resembled Galen's when he had come across a solution to a problem and was on the cusp of revealing it. Cassian, for his part, seemed equally as spell-bound, though he at least had the good grace to try and look down at his food.

“Just fine, Papa,” Jyn replied, finally turning away from Cassian to reply to her father. “A little....rocky at times, but just fine.”

Cassian coughed into his food. Lyra was quickly there with a quick cup of water, which he accepted with a mumble.

Galen frowned. “Rocky?” He turned to Lyra. “I don't remember her bed being rocky, Lyra.”

“Oh I'm sure it's just part of readjusting to civilian life, dear,” Lyra reassured her husband with good humor, even as she sent Cassian a wink that caused him to go pale. “Who knows how long it's been since either of them slept on a real bed?”

Cassian cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. “Speaking of slept, where is Kaytoo? Did he leave to go back to the ship last night?”

Lyra thought for a moment. “I think he's still in the kitchen recharging. Perhaps we don't have enough power for him to recharge properly here?”

Galen opened his mouth to reply, but Jyn beat him to it, her smirk deepening. “I wouldn't too much about it, Mother.” Jyn took a sip of her meal. “He's probably in the middle of some deep cleaning in his systems. This is probably the most time he's had to do some maintenance.”

“If you say so, dear,” Lyra allowed with a knowing smile of her own. “I'm glad you both slept well.”

 

–-

 

In the kitchen, deep in the corner, K-2SO was deep in the process of attempting to deep clean his memory banks. The image of Jyn and Cassian...

K-2SO shut down rather than think about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. This has been quite a ride, guys. Hope it didn't disappoint too much.
> 
> Special thanks to the Lyra Erso to my K-2SO, valkyrierising for encouraging me to finish this, but also for setting me up in a trap that required me to write this.
> 
> I'm returning to hide under my rock now.


End file.
